After a two-fight excursion in the sweet science, Francis Ngannou is ready to return to the world of MMA for his long-awaited PFL debut.
The former UFC heavyweight champion will step inside the Smart Cage for a clash with 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament winner Renan Ferreira at the promotion’s first superfight series pay-per-view on Saturday, October 19. ‘Problema’ earned the right to face Ngannou following a 21-second shellacking of Ryan Bader at the PFL vs. Bellator event in Saudi Arabia last year.
On Thursday, Ngannou and Ferreira went face-to-face for the first time to conclude the ‘Battle of the Giants’ press conference at The Anthem in Washington. Jake Paul was also in attendance to make sure there weren’t any shenanigans between the two behemoths.
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Also making her PFL debut alongside ‘The Predator’ will be women’s MMA icon Cris Cyborg. Going into her 31st career fight, Cyborg will square off with two-time PFL champion Larissa Pacheco in a battle of Brazilian badasses. Already holding a win over Kayla Harrison, Pacheco could establish herself as one of the best female fighters of all time should she come out on top against the most decorated woman in mixed martial arts history.
Francis Ngannou Snaps Back at Dana White’s Claim That He Refused to Fight Jon Jones
While addressing members of the media, Ngannou was asked about Dana White’s comment on Tuesday claiming that Ngannou was to blame for his fight with Jon Jones never coming to fruition.
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Ngannou refuted the UFC CEO’s “new narrative” and placed the blame back onto the lap of the UFC’s current undisputed heavyweight titleholder.
“That’s the new narrative since he needs to say something either way,” Ngannou said. “As far as I’m concerned, Jon Jones didn’t want to fight me according to them in so many times we sat down in meetings with them.
“They were like, ‘Oh, it can’t happen. Jon Jones doesn’t want to fight anymore. He lives in Albuquerque, and he lives his small life and has a lot of money in his bank account.’ I think the guy that controls the narrative can say whatever he wants. That’s just the narrative. I was the one requesting the Jon Jones fight.”
Ngannou reiterated that he would have been more than happy to re-sign with the UFC, had the promotion worked with him on terms that he believed were both fair and reasonable. Since that didn’t happen, he was left with no choice but to walk away, leaving the bout with ‘Bones’ on the table.
“I didn’t want that like a trap to get into some deal and get to something that I didn’t want, you know,” Ngannou added. ” I wanted things to be straight and squared. Yes, I wanted to fight Jon Jones, but in good conditions.”
